10. The Snake Son

A childless couple picked up a snake in the hills and brought it home. They named it Shidoko and took good care of it. The snake grew to be six feet long and as big around as a thick bamboo pole. The villagers asked the old couple to abandon Shidoko because they were afraid he would harm their children. The couple called him and explained. He shed tears of blood as he went far back into the hills. The old couple followed him. They saw him dig into the ground in a rice paddy. When they went again the next day, there was a big pond there. Such beautiful flowers bloomed around it in the spring that the villagers took their lunches and went to enjoy the view.

Later, the chōja’s daughter missed her footing and fell into the pond. Villagers who were there for sightseeing milled around in excitement, but could not rescue her. They were astonished to see Shidoko appear on the surface of the water with the girl in his mouth. She began to breathe again immediately. The chōja offered gifts of thanks to Shidoko and took the old couple into his home to live. Shidoko went off somewhere happy.

Kumamoto, Kamoto-gun

Iwate: Shiwa 142, “The snake son” (Hebi no musuko). The snake was in the sedge hat when they returned to their garden. It is more of a story about marrying the chōja’s daughter than one of unusual growth. There is a dialogue between the old man and each of his three daughters.

Fukushima, Iwaki-gun: Iwaki 3, “The snake son” (Hebi musuko). When the old couple went to cut grass, they picked up an egg from which a snake hatched. They named it Haru and cared for it lovingly. The snake had to be abandoned in the hills because the villagers disliked it. The rest of the story is broken up.

Yamanashi, Nishiyatsushiro-gun: Kai 1 13, “The snake son” (Hebi musuko). The story of Ryukichi without his wanting a bride.

Shizuoka, Kamo-gun, Chikuma-mura: Shizuoka 438, “The snake egg” (Hebi no tamago). A snake hatched from an egg that an old woman picked up at the foot of a mountain. It hurt people after she turned it loose in the mountains. The villagers gathered for a snake hunt. The snake appeared small for the old woman so she could kill it. Then its corpse grew larger and larger to let her get the reward.

Perhaps this is one of the stories about unusual children growing up.

Tagata-gun, Nakazato-mura: Shizuoka 439, “The snake son” (Hebi musuko).

Yamaguchi, Suō Ōshima: TD VI 6 64, “Ichi.” A snake hatched from an egg that was picked up on the grounds of Myōjin’s shrine. It had a mark like the character for ichi [one] on its head. It was disliked by the villagers after it grew and it had to be abandoned in the hills. Ichi set out to destroy a monster in response to a big sign posted by the feudal lord. The creature itself turned into a snake.

They were both mortally wounded as in the tale “Jūsan Tōge.”

Kumamoto, Kamoto-gun: MK II 8 41, “Shidoko.” Example. The rescue of the chōja’s daughter suggests a trace of a son-in-law episode.

Kagoshima, Satsuma-gun: MK I 12 37, “The snake’s gratitude” (Hebi hōon) by Saigō Shinji.

Koshikijima: Koshiki 154, “Sudō coins” (Sudō zen). Two stories.

11. Mudsnail Chōja

While an old couple were pulling weeds in their rice paddy, they heard a voice asking them to make him their son. It came from a mudsnail. The next day he had them saddle their horse. He mounted it and rode to a great house. He annoyed everyone by climbing onto the wooden ledge around the hearth and splashing boiling water and scattering ashes. He finally got the daughter of the family as his bride and took her home on the horse with him. The old couple was delighted, but the girl hated the mudsnail so much she couldn’t stand it. He told her that if she hated him that much, she should take him to the stone courtyard where straw was crushed and crush him. When she did as he said, he turned into a handsome youth. They lived together very happy after that.

Aomori, Gonohe-machi

Aomori, Sannohe-gun: Tekkiri 112, “Mudsnail Chōja” (Tanishi Chōja). Example.

Iwate: Kikimimi 10, “Mudsnail Chōja” (Tanishi Chōja).

Waga-gun: Dōbutsu.^* The beginning and the end are like the Kikimimi version. These must be called two ways of telling the same tale.

Akita, Hiraga-gun: MK II 8 30, “The mudsnail and the girl” (Tsubu to musume). There is no part about a child bestowed by a god. It begins with the call upon the chōja. He got the third daughter. He went into the sea and brought up a mallet of long life. He told the girl to shake it to turn him into a fine youth.

Senhoku-gun: Ugo 135. No title.

Miyagi, Momoo-gun: Kyōdo den 2 122, “The mudsnail son-in-law” (Tanishi muko dono).

Niigata, Minamikanbara-gun: MK I 3 30, “The mudsnail daughter” (Tanishi musume). The plot is the same, but the story is about a girl. Kamuhara 188, “The mudsnail son” (Tsubu musuko).

Hiroshima, Takata-gun: Geibi 1, “The mudsnail son” (Tsubu musuko).

Okayama: Okayama rekishi II 2 13, “The mudsnail son-in-law” (Tanishi muko dono).

Nagasaki: Shimabara 143, “The mudsnail son-in-law” (Tamina muko dono). The way of getting the bride is the same as in the Tōhoku story. There are episodes of an attack on Onigashima, the power of the needle, a boat made of reeds, and a magic mallet. He burned a village and shook out another with his mallet. With this there is the story of the neighbor and the rice storehouse.

Kitataku-gun: MK II 10 45, “The mudsnail” (Tanishi).

Further reference:

Mukashibanashi kenkyū I 9 17, “Nisshi mintan no hikaku.” About Chinese tales.

12. The Frog Son-in-Law

The story parallels that of the mudsnail except that the main character is a frog.

Ōita, Hayami-gun: MK I 12 39, “The frog who took a bride” (Kaeru no yome morai). This is probably a fragment.

Nagasaki: Shimabara 148, “The frog son-in-law,” (Kaeru no muko).

Kagoshima, Amami Ōshima: TD I 7 73, “The frog child” (Kaeru no ko).

Koshikijima: Koshiki 74, “The frog son” (Kaeru musuko).

13. The Snail Son-in-Law

Shimane, Mino-gun, Hikimi-mura: Minzoku bun II 7, “The mudsnail son” (Tanishi musuko). A snail was petted by an old couple. He received a grain of rice and went to get the daughter of a chōja for his bride. It resembles “Mudsnail Chōja” in this.

The girl gave him a needle. He annoyed demons who were wrestling and stuck the needle into the nose of one of them. He pricked the demon and got a magic mallet from him. The snail asked the girl to use the mallet to change him into a youth six feet tall. They shook out a house with the mallet and lived happy together.

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* Items marked with an asterisk (*) have not been available for checking by the translator.